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In order to get to a 355-ship Navy, the sea service will not only have to procure more vessels but maintain its current fleet, said the commander of U.S. Fleet Forces Command Jan. 17. That will also require bolstering the health of the industrial base.

Whether it’s high-throughput communications spacecraft, flat electronically steerable antennas or the new wave of low-Earth orbiting small satellites, the military is failing to leverage the billions of dollars the private sector is investing in new technologies, industry executives said March 14.

Officials conducting an ongoing Defense Department-led study that is assessing the health of the defense industrial base will put pressure on companies to see how they will react to different operational contingencies, said a Pentagon official Sept. 7.

The military sustainment mission is vital to strengthening the U.S. competitive global military advantage, but the nation must recognize the sober reality of its challenges, how private industry can help resolve some of the U.S. military’s readiness challenges, and what changes in government contracting might be helpful.